


Profilers

by moonlights_glow



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Implied Sexual Content, Spencer plays matchmaker, it's just fluff, maeve plotline (briefly), not enough love for my girl penelope, pure fluff, purely self indulgent fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-18 08:29:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28864089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonlights_glow/pseuds/moonlights_glow
Summary: (Y/N) (L/N) has been Spencer’s best friend since childhood. And he’s determined to play match-maker to make two of his favorite people in the universe happy
Relationships: Penelope Garcia/Reader, Spencer Reid & Reader
Comments: 2
Kudos: 26





	Profilers

“We must take care of our families wherever we find them” -Elizabeth Gilbert

  
~

Something was wrong. You could feel it in your gut. Something happened to your best friend. You pulled out your phone and called his boss, Aaron Hotchner. 

“What happened? What happened to Spencer?”

“Ms. (L/N)-”

“Where is he? Is he in the hospital again?”

“No, Ms. (L/N). He’s not in the hospital.”

“Then what’s wrong? Something’s wrong, I can feel it. Wait a minute. It’s that girl, isn’t it? The girl Spencer’s been talking to. What did she do?”

“She was killed,” Agent Hotchner told you. 

“Oh, god,” you said. “Oh, he saw it, didn’t he? Oh, Spence. Thank you, Agent Hotchner.” You hung up and got to Spencer’s apartment as quickly as you could. You ran up the stairs of his apartment complex before pounding on the door. 

“Spencer, open the door. Open the door, Spencer.” You pounded on the door harder. “Spencer, come on! I know you’re hurting, but you can’t shut me out!” You continued pounding on the door.

“Hey, don’t break down the door, that’s my job!”

You turned around. “Derek!”

The man wrapped you in a hug. “How is he?”

“He won’t let me in.”

“Maybe you should give him the night,” Derek Morgan suggested. “Come back in the morning.”

“I have a different idea,” you said, running down the stairs. 

“Wait, what are you doing?” Derek asked, running after you. 

You ran around to the side of the building, to the fire escape. You jumped up and grabbed onto the ladder, pulling yourself up. 

“Haven’t done this in a while,” you groaned as you swung yourself up. ”Not since I was 16 and in gymnastics.”

“(Y/N), what are you doing?”

“What does it look like? I’m climbing in through his fire escape.”

Derek sighed. “You’re not going to give up, are you?”

“Nope. I’ll let him know you’re thinking about him, though.” You climbed up the fire escape and made your way to Spencer’s window. You slid it open and crawled in. “Did you really think you could keep me out, Spencie?”

Spencer was curled up on his couch, his back facing you. 

“Aw, Spencer.” You walked over and sat by the couch. “I’m not going anywhere, okay? I’m here for you.”

~

You spent the night with your best friend, mostly in silence. You knew he was hurting, and you also knew that just staying by his side was enough. 

About halfway through the day, you nudged Spencer away. 

“Hey. You need to drink some water.”

You knew Spencer was awake. He just decided to ignore you. 

“Spencer.” You nudged him. “You need to drink some water. Like my kids say, hydrate before you die-drate.” He scoffed and turned around. You held the glass of water out to him. “Drink.”

He sat up and begrudgingly took the cup from you. “Do they really say that?”

“Kids today are weird, Spence,” you said. “I mean, kids have always been weird, but they’ve reached new levels of weirdness.” Spencer handed you the cup now that he’d emptied it. “You should probably eat something.”

“No.” He flopped back down on the couch. 

You sighed and looked at your watch. “I have to go into the office for a little bit. You better let me in when I come back, I don’t want to have to climb the fire escape again.” You kissed his temple before slipping out of the unusually messy apartment. As you walked down the stairs, you ran into two of Spencer’s coworkers. 

“Oh, hey! It’s Jennifer, right?” you said. “Spencer calls you JJ.”

“Uh, yeah. And you’re (Y/N)?”

“Yeah.” You turned to the other woman. “I don’t believe we’ve met.”

“Oh, I’m Penelope,” she said, shaking your hand. “Penelope Garcia.”

“Oh! Spencer talks about you a lot, you’re the tech genius, right?”

“That’s me,” she chuckled before sobering up. “How is he?”

“Not great,” you sighed. “I had to force him to drink some water. He hasn’t eaten anything. I’m actually heading out to get stuff to make him some soup before I stop by my office.”

“Will you tell him we’re thinking about him?” JJ asked you.

“Of course.”

~

“So, your teammates stopped by,” you told Spencer, handing him a bowl of homemade soup. “JJ and, uh, Penelope?”

“Of course it was them,” Spencer muttered, swirling the vegetables in the bowl around with his spoon. 

“Hey, don’t just play with the soup. You need to eat.”

“I keep replaying it,” he whispered. “Every time I close my eyes, I see her laying there.”

“Oh, Spencie. I’m so sorry.”

“I could have saved her.”

“Spencer. Hey. Look at me.” You turned on the couch to face him. When he continued to look into the bowl of soup like it would reveal the secret of life, you put your hands on the side of his face and turned his head to look at you. “You can’t blame yourself, Spencer. You know that.”

“But I could have. I could have saved her.”

“Spence. If the family of a victim was saything this, what would you tell them? If I have a kid who blames himself for his parents’ divorce, what would I tell him?”

Spencer sighed. “ _There’s nothing you could have done_ ,” he said, repeating the phrase you both have had to tell so many people.

“Exactly. You were dealing with a psychopath. You can’t blame yourself for her actions. Now eat your soup. It’s getting cold, your noodles are gonna get soggy.”

~

You eventually had to go back to work. Apparently the death of your basically-brother’s girlfriend wasn’t considered a “death in the family.” As you sat at your desk, you contemplated yet again starting your own practice.

“(Y/N), your 3 o’clock is here,” the receptionist said through the intercom. 

“Thank you, Janet.” You shifted through the files on your desk until you found the one you were looking for. The door opened, and a familiar face poked through. “Hi, Jack! Mr. Hotchner. It’s great to see you both!”

“Hi, Dr. (L/N),” Jack said, sitting in the big comfy chair you had for the kids. 

“I’m gonna talk to your dad for a minute, okay? Why don’t you play with the Legos? I got some new Batman ones.”

“Awesome!” Jack ran over to the table of Legos. 

“How’s Reid?” Hotch asked you. 

“Not good. I’m pretty sure if I wasn’t there, he wouldn’t eat.”

Hotch sighed. “Let him know we’re thinking of him?”

“Of course.” You sat down at the Lego table with Jack. “So, how have you been, Jack? How was your week?”

~

Spencer sat on his couch, thinking. That was all he seemed to do lately.

“What’s on your mind, Spence?” you asked, flopping next to him on the couch. 

“I need to go back to work,” he said, still staring out the window. He snapped out of his trance, bustling around his mess to find his satchel. “I need to get back to work, the team needs me.”

“Are you sure you’re ready to go back?” you asked him. 

“Positive. I need to go back. It’ll be better for me than wallowing in self-pity.”

“Okay, well, shower before you go,” you told him. “No offense, but you need one desperately. I’ll pack your bag for you.”

“You’re the best,” he said, kissing your cheek. 

“I know I am.”

The team welcomed Spencer back, happy he was there. After the case ended, they agreed to help him tidy his apartment. You talked with his team, getting to know them better. 

“So, how long have you and Reid known each other?” Penelope asked you while you helped organize all of Spencer’s books. 

“Oh, forever,” you said. “We were neighbors as kids. Even after he went to college we kept in touch. Any time he’d visit, my parents would invite him and his mom over for dinner. We were both only children. Spencer’s the closest thing to a brother I have.”

~

“So, Penelope. She’s, uh, she’s pretty great,” you said when you were having dinner with Spencer. 

“Yeah, she is. Wait a minute.” He looked you over. “You like her, don’t you?”

“I never said-”

“You _do_ !” Spencer said. “You _like_ Garcia.”

You groaned, hiding your face in your hands. “I hate profilers.”

Spencer patted your shoulder. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell her.” He would just secretly scheme to get the two of you together.

~

You sighed and gathered the files and papers on your desk. It was finally the end of the day and Spencer was supposed to pick you up at any moment. When there was a knock at your office door, you got up and opened it. Instead of Spencer, Penelope Garcia was standing in the doorway. 

“Oh, uh, it’s Penelope, right?” you asked her, though you knew exactly who she was. “Is everything okay? Where’s Spencer?”

“That’s actually why I’m here,” she said. “Uh, the team got called away on a case and they have spotty cell service. He asked if I could stop by and let you know.”

“Oh.” You visibly deflated at the news.

Penelope thought on her feet, wanting to see you smile. “Hey, what if we go do something?” she offered. 

“What?”

“Yeah, you and me. We can go get our nails done! Come on, it’ll be fun! Besides, I should get to know my Boy Genius’s beautiful best friend.”

You felt your cheeks heat up but you smiled. “Yeah, sure. Sure, it sounds like fun.”

The next day when Penelope got to her office, she got a call from Spencer. 

“You’ve reached The Oracle,” she said when she answered. 

“So, how was last night?” Spencer asked. 

“Oh, it was so fun,” Penelope said. “(Y/N)’s amazing! We got our nails done and went to a karaoke bar.”

“Sounds like you had a good time.”

“Oh, we did. She’s wonderful. Why am I only meeting her now, Spencer?”

“Well, she’s always busy with work. She’s kind of a workaholic,” Spencer chuckled. “It’s hard enough for me to get her to take a break. I think it might be easier if she had a girlfriend, I don’t know.” Spencer knew what he was doing. He was planting the seeds. “Anyway, what did you find out about Leah Foster?”

“Oh, right. Right, the case.” Penelope tapped on her keyboard, pulling up the information. “It’s sent to your phone. So, uh, (Y/N)’s single?”

“Yeah. She has been for a while. Why?”

“No reason!” Penelope said. “Go do your genius thing, Reid.” She hung up and sat back in her chair.

~

You tapped your nails on your desk, reading one of the new patient files that had been dumped on you. 

“(Y/N), you have a visitor,” the secretary said through the intercom. 

You sighed. “Send them in,” you said. “Thank you, Janet.” Your face lit up when you saw who the visitor was. “Penelope!”

She was wearing a colorful patterned dress, and she looked beautiful. As always. She smiled at you, and it made your dim office so much brighter. 

“Hey, beautiful,” she said. 

You felt your cheeks heat up. Again. Penelope knows just how to make you blush. “What, uh, what are you doing here?”

“I came to ask you out to dinner tonight,” she said, flouncing into the chair across from your desk.

“Sure,” you said. 

Penelope reached across the desk and rested her hand on top of yours. “No, (Y/N), I’m _asking you out_ to dinner.”

“Oh.” Your face felt like it was on fire. “Oh, um, yes. I, um, I’d love to go to dinner with you, Penelope.”

~

After your dinner with Penelope, you brought her back to your apartment. You opened your apartment door and a grey blur ran past you. 

“No, Noodle!” you yelled as your cat stood in the hallway, eyeing you up.

“Oh, he’s adorable!” Penelope said as you picked him up. She scratched his head and you felt your cat start purring. “I love cats,” she said. “Well, I really love all animals, but I especially love cats.”

You smiled. “Well, this is Noodle. He was a stray I found in a box in the alley. He’s been my baby since I found him. He’s a bit of a troublemaker.”

Penelope laughed. “He’s a beautiful boy.”

You put your cat down and sat with Penelope on your couch, sorting through romcoms on Netflix, looking for one you’d both enjoy. When you finally found one, you grabbed a blanket and threw it over Penelope and yourself before the both of you cuddled up together. Halfway through the movie, Noodle hopped onto the couch and nestled in between you and Penelope.

You woke up the next morning to your cell phone ringing. You groaned and hit the button to silence the ringer before answering. 

“Hello?” you groaned, keeping your voice quiet. 

“(Y/N), are you just waking up now?” Spencer asked on the other end. 

You looked over at the sleeping Penelope, taking in how beautiful she looked sleeping. “Yeah, I am,” you said, still keeping your voice low. “Why?”

“Because it’s a Saturday and we usually play chess on Saturday mornings. Also I’m at your apartment door now.”

Your eyes went wide as you heard Spencer’s keys in the lock. “Spencer, do not come into my bedroom,” you told him, your voice deadly serious. “I am not anywhere near ready for the day.”

“So? It’s not like it’d be the first time I’ve seen you in pajamas.”

“Yes, but Spencer, _I’m not alone_ ,” you stressed. 

You heard Spencer’s footsteps stop. “What?”

You heard Penelope shift in bed. She rubbed her eyes and sat up, kissing your bare shoulder. “Who are you talking to?” she asked you, resting her head on your shoulder. 

“It’s just Spencer, Pen,” you said, brushing her hair out of her eyes. 

“Wait a minute!” Spencer yelled and you could hear him in the living room. “Wait a minute, is that Penelope?”

You winced at his volume. “Yes, Spencer. And if you’re gonna be in my living room, at least feed Noodle for me. We’ll be out in a few minutes.”

“Is he freaking out?” Penelope asked you. 

“Yeah. We should probably go calm him down.” You gave Penelope a quick kiss before the two of you climbed out of your bed. 

Spencer was on your couch, his foot propped on your coffee table, a cocky smile on his face. 

“Okay. What’s the smile about?” you asked him, pushing his leg off the table and handing him a cup of coffee. 

“Let’s just say I’m a pretty successful matchmaker,” he said. “I knew you two would be good together the moment you met.”

You groaned and shoved him, not hard enough to spill his coffee. “God, I hate profilers!”

  
~  
  


“Nobody has ever measured, even poets, how much a heart can hold.” -Zelda Fitzgerald


End file.
